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Joe Savery Makes MLB Debut As A Philadelphia Phillies Pitcher After Starting Season As A High-A Hitter

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Joe Savery has one of the season’s most unlikely paths to the major leagues. A two way star both as a pitcher and as a hitter in college at Rice University, Savery was always a good hitting minor league pitcher. After a 2010 season that saw him go 1-12 on the mound for the Triple-A Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, the decision was made to give Savery a look full time at the plate to begin 2011. He opened the year batting for the High-A Clearwater Threshers hitting .307 over 54 games and earned a promotion to the Double-A Reading Phillies. It was in Reading where the decision was made to give it another shot on the mound. Savery looked like a brand new pitcher going 1-0 with a 1.00ERA six appearances out of the Reading bullpen. From there it was a promotion back up to Lehigh Valley, and after going 4-0 with a 1.80ERA in 25 innings, Savery earned a promotion to the Phillies where he made his major league debut today going a third of an inning out of the Phillies bullpen. In the story link below, Savery talks about his unusual path to the big leagues, his hitting ability, and being able to excel on the mound in 2011 after struggling so badly in 2010.